On December 21, Guangdong briefed its ecological and environment protection policies at the 2022 Global Investment Promotion Conference for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The conference is underway online and offline in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao from December 21 to December 22.
Here are some highlights of the policies presented by the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province.
Attractive natural & ecological environment
● Blue sky
"Guangdong Blue" has become a new symbol in recent years. The annual average concentration of PM 2.5 is 19μg/m3, which is stably superior to WHO's standard value for the second transition stage. And the province is committed to continuous improvement of the environment in the future.
Comparison Chart of Annual Average of PM 2.5 μg/m3
Data from January to November 2022 in Guangdong and 2020 in Italy are adopted. (Source: Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province)
In recent years, many shutterbugs have taken clear images of the Canton Tower in downtown Guangzhou from nearby cities in the Pearl River Delta region.
● Lucid waters
The water quality of the drinking water source in Guangdong is 100% up to standard, with excellent water quality in the offshore area and excellent water environment quality of major lakes and reservoirs, such as the main streams of the Pearl Reiver Basin and the Xinfengjiang Reservoir all the year round.
Huidong Sea Turtle National Nature Reserve, Huizhou: A "five-star" home for sea turtles (Photo: Nanfang Plus)
● Unique ecological context
Guangdong is home to 1,361 nature reserves, ranking first in China, including one national botanical garden—the South China National Botanical Garden. The mangrove area in Guangdong accounts for 39.3% of the total in the country.
The province is also home to typical ecosystems such as tropical monsoon forests, evergreen broad-leaved forests and coastal wetlands, as well as habitats for characteristic wild animals and plants, such as firmiana danxiaensis and Chinese white dolphins.
Nanling National Nature Reserve: "Treasure house of species" (Photo: Forestry Administration of Guangdong Province)
Haizhu Wetland Park: the world's largest downtown wetland park, covering an area of 1,100 hectares (Photo: Nanfang Daily)
South China National Botanical Garden: the world's largest south subtropical botanical garden (Photo: Nanfang Plus)
Chinese white dolphins, known as "giant pandas of the sea" are swimming in the Pearl River Estuary. There are many protected areas in Guangdong for more than 2,000 Chinese white dolphins. (Photo: Nanfang Daily)
High-quality service & management in eco-environment
● Strong support for project site selection
"Three lines and one permit" (TLOP) has been developed and open to the public to support project site selection in Guangdong. TLOP refers to the red line for ecological conservation, bottom line for environmental quality, upper-limit line for resource use, and a list of environmental permits. People can check the TLOP on Yue Shang Tong APP (粤商通APP) or on the webpage https://www-app.gdeei.cn/l3a1/public/home-page/stat.
A screenshot of the webpage TLOP
● EIA procedures are simplified
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures are convenient and efficient in the province, with a "green channel" provided for key projects. The number of projects subject to EIA has been decreased significantly.
BASF Guangdong Verbund Site (Photo: Nanfang Plus)
● No disturbance to law-abiding enterprises
Law-abiding enterprises will be included in a white list, and priority will be given to off-site inspections and intelligent means, such as online monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicle inspection, remote sensing, and big data analysis.
Unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned boat monitoring water quality and taking samples (Photo: Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone)
● Proactive guidance on environmental policies
Policy interpretation and service guide information are available on the websites and in WeChat subscription accounts of government authorities at all levels. The government departments also outreach to enterprises for promoting environment regulations and technologies.
A screenshot of the regulations published on the official website of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province.
● Meet enterprises' needs for pollution control
Guangdong has a well-established environmental consulting service industry covering environmental contractor services, environmental supervision, environmental technology assessment, and environmental damage identifications for enterprises.
Environmental infrastructure is fully-fledged in the province too. The utilization capacity of hazardous waste in industrial parks above provincial level has reached 11.3 million tons, basically covering all types of hazardous waste.
The ground park in the third phase of Daya Bay's first water purification plant (Photo: Huizhou Daily)
Unlimited investment opportunities in low-carbon eco-industries
● Great market potential of eco-industries
The revenue of eco-industries of Guangdong in 2021 reached RMB 430 billion, ranking first in China. More than 900 major ecological and environmental projects worth nearly RMB 400 billion will be implemented in the province by 2025.
Zhuhai Jinwan Offshore Wind Far: Green energy benchmark (Photo: Official website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the People's Government of Guangdong Province)
● Huge market for green and low-carbon investment
Guangdong has built the world's fourth largest carbon emission exchange market. The province's investment of green and low-carbon transformation in fields of industries and energy exceeds RMB one trillion. It has also been facilitating the mutual recognition and interoperability of carbon labels between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and other countries.
(Source: Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province)
Author | Monica
Poster | Lu Lu
Editor | Wing, Olivia, Steven, Jerry
